Froome faced a hostile reception from fans on the climb as he fought his way back with just over 32 kilometres to go, but he attempted to play it down. “It’s to be expected, this is the home stage for Romain Bardet so I can understand all the locals here supporting him.”William Fotheringham, The Guardian

Strange how this Tour is playing out. I thought is was going to be not so good with so many top names out. But so far Froome isn't as dominant as in the past but Sky is still so much strong than any other team. Froome had a broken spoke, not a flat. If that happened to any other GC contender they would have lost 5 minutes. Froome got dragged back into the group by 3 strong team mates.

Great victory for Bauke Mollema and Dutch cycling !!! First Stage victory and also Combattive victory – he must feel good after all these years. Cycling is very popular in Holland , so the Dutch have to get some riders in the top Classification. Good effort by Froome to get back in the race after the flat tire and keep Yellow Jersey. Also , Kittel is feeling the heat as he narrowly holds on to Green jersey – mountains coming up – nice scenery in Le Puy en Velay – any Princesses in those castles ?